Treat dispenser

ABSTRACT

A treat dispenser includes an elongated non-rigid support member having a first limit and a second limit, and a plurality of receptacle elements that are resilient. Each of the receptacle elements has an interior region that is structured to receive treats, and has a first opening and a second opening in communication with the interior region, the second opening being larger than the first opening and configured to dispense the treats. The support member extends through each of the first openings and the second openings, and first and second receptacle elements of the plurality of receptacle elements being slidable in use on the support member between the first and second limits to dispense the treats from the second opening to an exterior of the treat dispenser.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/899,042 filed May 21, 2013, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/650,124 filed May 22, 2012,the entire contents of each of which are incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The disclosed and claimed concept relates generally to a treat toy foranimals and, more particularly, to a treat dispenser having, in oneembodiment, a plurality of stackable and nestable flexible pods that aremovably disposed on a support and that are each individually accessiblefor the loading and dispensing of treats to an animal.

BACKGROUND

Toys that dispense animal treats when the toy is rolled or otherwisemanipulated are generally known in the relevant art. Such devices have avariety of forms and arrangements of holes and openings. Thesetreat-discharging toys are generally comprised of a first opening forthe insertion of treats, one or a plurality of second openings for thedispensing of treats, which second opening or openings may or may not bethe same as the first opening, and a challenge feature that retains thetreats within the toy until the toy is played with by the pet. Thechallenge feature could be, for example, an obstructed interior betweenthe first and one or more second openings that causes a treat to rattlearound in response to movement of the toy from the pet. Anotherchallenge feature could, for example, hold the treat in one locationthat is only accessible if the pet chews or licks the toy.

Despite the advancements in the art, there is always a need for a treatdispenser which sustains a pet's attention for longer periods of time toentice the pet to play and maintain prolonged engagement and interest inthe toy. Many pets have a relatively short attention span and are easilybored. It would be desirable to provide an improved treat dispenserwhich shortcoming in the relevant art.

SUMMARY

In accordance with one embodiment, there is provided a treat dispenserfor an animal comprising a support and a plurality of coaxiallystackable and nestable pods slidably disposed along the support, eachpod having an interior for receiving a treat, a sidewall, a firstopening and a second opening coaxial with the first opening, the firstopening being dimensioned for slidable movement along the support, andthe second opening being larger than the first opening for thedispensing of treats to an animal. Each of the pods is preferablyindependently movable and loadable with treats and the pods are thenstacked or nested together to conceal the treat openings. Upon receivinga treat laden treat dispenser toy, an animal must separate the pods inorder to gain access to the treats within each pod. The treat dispensermay be formed from material such as nylon, rubber or rope, for example,that is independently attractive to an animal and that functions toentertain the animal as a toy independent of the treat dispensing pods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an elevational view, partly cut away, of a treat dispenser inaccordance with a first embodiment of the disclosed and claimed concept;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the treat dispenser of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the treat dispenser of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view as taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a treat dispenser in accordance with asecond embodiment of the disclosed and claimed concept;

FIG. 6 is an illustration of use of the treat dispenser of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a treat pod of the treat dispenser ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is another perspective view of the treat pod of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the treat pod of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a section view as taken along line 10-10 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a top plan view of the treat pod of FIG. 7;

FIG. 12 is a front elevational view of the treat dispenser of FIG. 1that illustrates a pivoted treat pod;

FIG. 13 is a front elevational view of the treat dispenser of FIG. 1that illustrates a nested arrangement of treat pods;

FIG. 14A is a front elevational view of the treat dispenser of FIG. 1that illustrates a movement of the treat pods;

FIG. 14B illustrates the dispensing of treats after the movement shownin FIG. 14A;

FIG. 15A illustrates another movement of the treat pods;

FIG. 15B illustrates the dispensing of treats after the movement shownin FIG. 15A;

FIG. 16A illustrates a further movement of the treat pods;

FIG. 16B illustrates the dispensing of treats after the movement shownin FIG. 16A;

FIG. 17 illustrates a treat being loaded into a treat pod of anembodiment of the treat dispenser which is similar to that of FIG. 5;

FIG. 18 illustrates the stacking or nesting of the treat pods of thetreat dispenser of FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 illustrates treat dispenser of FIG. 17 in use; and

FIG. 20 is a sectional view of a treat dispenser in accordance with athird embodiment of the disclosed and claimed concept.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The description of illustrative embodiments according to principles ofthe present invention is intended to be read in connection with theaccompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entirewritten description. In the description of embodiments of the inventiondisclosed herein, any reference to direction or orientation is merelyintended for convenience of description and is not intended in any wayto limit the scope of the present invention. Relative terms such as“lower,” “upper,” “horizontal,” “vertical,” “above,” “below,” “up,”“down,” “top” and “bottom” as well as derivatives thereof (e.g.,“horizontally,” “downwardly,” “upwardly,” etc.) should be construed torefer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawingunder discussion. These relative terms are for convenience ofdescription only and do not require that the apparatus be constructed oroperated in a particular orientation unless explicitly indicated assuch. Terms such as “attached,” “affixed,” “connected,” “coupled,”“interconnected,” and the like refer to a relationship whereinstructures are secured or attached to one another either directly orindirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable andrigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly describedotherwise. Moreover, the features and benefits of the invention areillustrated by reference to the exemplified embodiments. Accordingly,the invention expressly should not be limited to such exemplaryembodiments illustrating some possible non-limiting combination offeatures that may exist alone or in other combinations of features, thescope of the invention instead being defined by the claims appendedhereto.

This description is not intended to be understood in a limiting sense,but provides an example of the invention presented solely forillustrative purposes by reference to the accompanying drawings toadvise one of ordinary skill in the art of the advantages andconstruction of the invention. In the various views of the drawings,like reference characters designate like or similar parts.

The embodiments disclosed by the invention are only examples of the manyadvantageous uses of the innovative teachings herein. In general,statements made in the specification of the present application do notnecessarily limit any of the various claimed inventions. Moreover, somestatements may apply to some inventive features but not to others. Ingeneral, unless otherwise indicated, singular elements may be in pluraland vice versa with no loss of generality.

FIG. 1 illustrates a treat dispenser or treat dispenser toy 100 inaccordance with a first embodiment of the disclosed and claimed conceptthat can be generally stated as including a support 200 having an axis210 and a length 212, and a number of coaxially stackable treat pods 300slidably disposed along the support 200 between a first limit 230 and asecond limit 240. As employed herein, the expression “a number of” andvariations thereof shall refer broadly to any non-zero quantity,including a quantity of one. As also described in connection with FIGS.7-11, each pod 300 has an interior 310 surrounded by a sidewall 320, afirst opening 330 for receiving the support 200, and a second opening340 for the passage of treats 50 into and out of the interior 310. Eachpod 300 serves as a receptacle element that is structured to receive,retain, and eventually dispense to an animal a treat. A “treat” as usedherein is meant to include all animal foodstuffs that can be consumed byan animal, and it may take various forms such as uniformly sizednuggets, or the treat may be irregularly sized and shaped, or the treatmay be liquid or semi-solid such as peanut butter or the like. Othershapes and configuration are possible. While three individual treat pods300 a, 300 b, and 300 c (generically or collectively described as pods300) are shown, it will be appreciated with reference to the discussionbelow that a lesser quantity such as one or two pods 300 may be used, ormore than three pods 300 may be used if desired, where the number ofpods may vary with the size of each pod and the length 212 of thesupport 200. As will be described in more detail below, the pods 300 maybe individually loaded with treats 50, preferably through the secondopening 340, and then stacked and preferably nested onto each other andthen presented to an animal 75 (see FIGS. 6 and 19), whereby the animal75 proceeds to play with the treat dispenser 100 and manipulate thetreat pods 300 until the treats 50 are dispensed.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the body 220 of the support 200 isconfigured as a cylindrical rod having a substantially uniformcross-section, wherein the body 220 is preferably substantially rigidand is formed from a safe, non-toxic material such as nylon, syntheticor natural rubber, or some other similar plastic for example. Otherrigid or semi-rigid materials are contemplated. The support 200 may havevarious shapes and configurations, such as a bone-shaped configurationas shown in FIG. 1 with the limits 230, 240 appearing to be knuckle orcondyle portions of an actual bone. While the shape or configuration ofthe support 200 and the limits 230, 240 may be variable, theconfiguration of any selected support should allow for movement orsliding of the pods along the body, with the configuration of anyselected limits preventing the pods from becoming removed from the bodyduring normal use or play by an animal. Thus, the support 200 preferablyconstrains the slidable movement of the pods 300 along the axis 210 ofthe support 200 while the limits 230, 240 function to prevent the pods300 from separating from the support 200 and may further functionindependently as a chew toy element for an animal. In one embodiment(not shown), the limits are fixed or non-removable relative to thesupport 200, which might occur during the manufacturing and assemblyprocess after the pods 300 have been attached to the support body 220.One or more of the limits 230, 240 may be removable from the body 220,such as shown in the exploded perspective view of FIG. 2 and theassembled views of FIGS. 3-4 of the treat dispenser 100 of FIG. 1 havingone end of the body 220 fixed to limit 230 and an opposite end of thebody 220 threadably engageable with limit 240 for removable attachmentof the limit 240 with the body 220. As shown in the cross-section ofFIG. 4, limit 230 is formed as part of the body 220, such as by aninjection molding manufacturing process, while limit 240 is removablyattached to the body such as by a threaded connection. While limit 230is shown as being fixed and limit 240 is shown as being removable, itwill be appreciated that the arrangement of fixed and removable limitsmay be reversed, or that both limits 230, 240 may be fixed, or that bothlimits may be removable. Two benefits of being able to remove the pods300 from the support 200 include the ability to clean the pods 300 andsupport 200 separately and the ability to replace worn or ineffectivepods 300 that have degraded over time. Other functions and benefits arepossible.

While a rigid or semi-rigid rod-like support 200 is shown in theembodiment of FIG. 1, it will be appreciated that other constructionsare possible. For example, and as is depicted generally in FIGS. 5 and6, a treat dispenser 500 in accordance with a second non-limitingembodiment of the disclosed and claimed concept includes a preferablynon-rigid support 600 in the form of a rope, and a number of coaxiallystackable pods 700 slidably disposed along the support 600 between afirst limit 630 and a second limit 640 that are each formed from thesame material as the support 600. The rope may be made from anymaterial, although it is preferred to use cotton or a synthetic blendwhich is durable and washable. The pods 700 are substantially similar tothe pods 300. Each pod 700 has an interior 710 surrounded by a sidewall720, a first opening 730 for receiving the support 600, and a secondopening 740 for the passage of treats 50 into and out of the interior710. In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the ends of the rope support 600 areknotted to form the limits 630, 640, which are wide enough to constrainthe pods 700 to the support 600 such that the pods 700 are not removablefrom the support 600. Thus, during one aspect of a manufacturingprocess, the pods 700 would be initially attached to the support 600 andthen the limits 630, 640 or knots would be formed around the pods 700.The animal 75 is able to play with the knots 630, 640 of the treatdispenser 500 as a rope toy in addition to a treat toy as shown, forexample, in FIG. 6.

FIGS. 7-11 illustrate the treat-dispensing pods 300, 700 (pod 300 willbe described and illustrated for ease of explanation) for use with thetreat dispenser toys 100, 500 of the various embodiments describedherein, or for use with other similarly-functioning treat dispensersthat come within the scope of the present disclosure even though notshown herein. The illustrated embodiment of the pod 300 furthercomprises an interior 310 for receiving a treat 50 (see FIG. 1, forexample) and having a central axis 305 (FIG. 9), a sidewall 320 that ispreferably flexible, a first opening 330 with a first adjacent sidewallportion 322 depending therefrom, and a second opening 340 with a secondadjacent sidewall portion 326 depending therefrom. The first and secondopenings 330, 340 are coaxial with the central axis 305 and are sized toreceive the support body 220 therethrough to allow for the sliding ofthe treat pod 300 along the support axis 210. The first and secondadjacent sidewall portions 322, 326 meet one another at a waist 324having the relatively largest diameter 328 (FIGS. 10-11) of the sidewall320. Each pod is preferably made from a durable material such as naturalrubber or a synthetic rubber such as TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) or athermoplastic rubber, wherein the material can be opaque, transparent,translucent, colored, or a combination of the same. Using a transparentor semi-translucent material allows an animal to view the treatscontained within. Other materials are contemplated.

In the illustrated embodiment, the first opening 330 of the treat pod300 is preferably smaller than the second opening 340, wherein the firstopening 330 functions primarily to retain the treat pod 300 on thesupport body 220, while the larger second opening 340 functionsprimarily to receive and dispense treats 50 as will be described below.The first opening 330 is preferably dimensioned to resist the passage oftreats therethrough, although with certain flowable treat items such aspeanut butter, for example, some treat material may ooze through thefirst opening 330 and/or coat the support body 220 during theinteraction of the animal with the toy 100. In the illustratedembodiment, the first opening 330 is surrounded by a collar 332 thatforms a periphery of the first opening 330. This optional collar 332increases the rigidity of the first adjacent sidewall portion 322 aroundthe first opening 330, which resists the first opening 330 from beingbent or peeled back by an animal or the like. The collar 332 may also beused to engage a peripheral groove 232 (FIG. 4) in the first limit 230in order to retain the collar 332 and the treat pod 300 relative to thefirst limit 230. However, the second opening 340, which is larger thanthe first opening 330, forms the terminus of the second adjacentsidewall portion 326 and is more bendable or capable of being peeledback or away from the central axis 305 to expose more of the interior310 through the second opening 340. The bendability of the secondopening 340 is due in part to the lack of a reinforcing element such asthe presence of a collar (not shown) along the periphery of the secondopening 340. Additional factors affecting the bendability of thesidewall 320 adjacent the second opening 340 include, but are notlimited to, the thickness of the sidewall 320 wherein a thinner sidewall320 will generally be more bendable than a thicker sidewall, and theslope of the second adjacent sidewall portion 326 relative to thecentral axis 305 wherein a slope that is closer to parallel orperpendicular to the central axis 305 would result in a less bendablesecond opening 340, while a slope that is closer to forty-five degreesrelative to the central axis 305, for example, would tend to be morebendable. Other bendable dimensions and configurations are possible.

FIG. 12 illustrates one embodiment of the treat dispenser 100 whereinthe pod 300 is pivotable on the support 200 relative to the firstopening 330 in order to vary the position of the second opening 340relative to the support 200 and increase access to the interior 310 ofthe treat pod 300. It can be understood from FIG. 12 that upon suchpivoting of the pod 300, the central axis 305 is oriented generallyoblique to the axis 210. Because the second opening 340 is larger thanthe first opening 330, treats 50 are preferably inserted into theinterior 310 through the second opening 340. Each treat pod 300 ispreferably independently movable along the support 200 so that eachtreat pod 300 may be slidably spaced away from an adjacent treat pod asufficient distance to allow the treat pod to be pivoted outward inpreparation for the insertion of treats 50. Once a treat pod 300 isloaded with treats 50, the loaded treat pod is moved along the support200 in order to make room for the pivoting of another treat pod inpreparation to receive treats 50.

Once all of the treat pods 300 have been loaded with treats 50, the podsare coaxially stacked and preferably nested or seated onto each other asshown in FIGS. 1 and 13 to conceal the treats 50 and to cover orotherwise create a barrier to the second opening 340 of each pod. In oneembodiment, this is accomplished by advancing the second opening 340 ofone pod 300 over the first opening 330 of an adjacent pod andcompression fitting the two together through the flexibility of thesidewall 320, with the second opening 340 being against the firstadjacent sidewall portion 322 of the adjacent pod. Thereafter, the treattoy 100 is provided to an animal whereby the animal bites and causes thetreat pods 300 to move relative to each other and relative to thesupport 200 in order to expose the second opening 340 of each pod andcause treats 50 retained within the interior 310 to be dispensed throughthe second opening 340.

FIG. 13 (and FIG. 1) shows one embodiment of a treat dispenser toy 100loaded with treats 50. The arrangement of the treat pods 300 a, 300 b,and 300 c, along the support 200 creates a variable challenge for ananimal in terms of accessing treats within each treat pod as shown inthe different treat-accessing scenarios of FIGS. 14A-16B. Due to thestacking of the treat pods 300 and the ability of an animal tocollectively move a series of stacked treat pods along the support 200,the bottom-most (from the perspective of FIG. 13) treat pod 300 c tendsto be the easiest for an animal to access, and more specifically thesecond opening of such pod 300 c, due to the ability of the animal tosimultaneously move all of the pods 300 a, 300 b, and 300 c away fromthe second limit 240 (FIG. 14A) in order to reveal the second opening340 c of the treat pod 300 c (FIG. 14B) for access to the treats withinthe interior 310 c. For example, an animal might be able to hold orsupport the second limit 240 and nudge with its muzzle all of the treatpods 300 a, 300 b, and 300 c away from the second limit 240 in order toaccess the treats in the pod 300 c. Similarly, a medium-level challengeis presented for the animal to displace only the treat pod 300 c towardthe second limit 240 while the treat pods 300 a, 300 b remain stackedand nested together at the first limit 230 (FIG. 15A), which would thenreveal the second opening 340 of the treat pod 300 b (FIG. 15B). Forexample, an animal might be able to hold or support the first limit 230and bite down on the tread pod 300 c (see also FIG. 19) and pull suchpod 300 c toward the animal and thereby reveal the second opening 340.However, the greatest challenge is presented for the animal to retain inplace only the treat pod 300 a while displacing away the other treatpods 300 b, 300 c toward the second limit 240 (FIG. 16A), which wouldthen reveal the second opening 340 of the treat pod 300 a and allow theanimal to extract treats 50 from the interior 310 thereof (FIG. 16B).For example, an animal might be able to hold or support the first treatpod 300 a along with the first limit 230 (see also FIG. 6) and bite downon the tread pod 300 b and/or the tread pod 300 c and pull such pods 300b, 300 c toward the animal and thereby revealing the second opening 340from the pod 300 a.

FIGS. 14A-16B illustrate use of a treat dispenser toy 100 having pods300 supported along a rod-like support 200. Similar to the toy 500 ofFIG. 5, FIGS. 17-19 show a non-limiting embodiment of a treat dispensertoy 800 having a preferably flexible, i.e., non-rigid support 900 in theexemplary form of a rope, the treat dispenser toy 800 further having anumber of coaxially stackable and nestable pods 1000 (individual pods1000 a, 1000 b and 1000 c) slidably disposed along the support 900between a first limit 930 and a second limit 940 that are each formedfrom the same material as the support 900. More specifically, FIG. 17illustrates the insertion of a treat 50 through the second opening 1040b of a pivoted pod 1000 b where the pod 1000 b is nested within thesecond opening 1040 a of the pod 1000 a, and the pod 1000 c is spacedtoward the second limit 940 and away from the nested pods 1000 a, 1000b. FIG. 18 illustrates the tight nesting together of the treat-ladenpods 1000 a, 1000 b, and 1000 c and the positioning of the secondopening 1040 c of the pod 1000 c against the second limit 940. FIG. 19illustrates an animal 75 separating the pod 1000 c from the other nestedpods 1000 a, 1000 b for purposes of gaining access to the second opening1040 b from the pod 1000 b and the treats within the interior 1010 b ofthe pod 1000 b.

FIG. 20 illustrates an improved treat dispenser 1100 in accordance witha third embodiment of the disclosed and claimed concept. The treatdispenser 1100 is similar to the treat dispenser 100, except that thetreat dispenser 1100 has some structural and other differences. Morespecifically, the treat dispenser includes an elongated cylindricalsupport 1200 having a pair of opposite dogbone-shaped ends, i.e., afirst end 1230 and a second end 1260. The dogbone shaped first end 1230serves as a first limit 1230. However, the support 1200 additionally hasan annular flange 1240 protruding radially therefrom that serves as asecond limit 1240. That is, the second limit 1240 protrudes outwardlyfrom the support 1200 in a direction generally transverse to thelongitudinal extent of the support 1200. The second limit 1240 is spacedfrom the second end 1260 and is receivable in the interior of a collar1332 of a pod 1300 c to resist movement of the pods 1300 c and a pair ofadditional pods 1300 a and 1300 b beyond the second end 1260. That is,whereas the first limit 1230 is at the first end 1230, the second limit1240 is spaced from the second end 1260 and is disposed between thefirst and second ends 1230 and 1260.

Depending upon the size of an animal 75 and the force with which theanimal 75 plays with the treat dispensers disclosed and claimed herein,it may be possible for the animal to push a pod 300 beyond the secondlimit 240 of the treat dispenser 100. In this regard, it is noted thatthe second opening 340 is meaningfully larger than the first opening 330and, since the pod 300 is elastomeric, the second opening 340potentially may be stretched sufficiently to enable it to pass beyondthe second limit 240. However, the treat dispenser 1100 is configuredsuch that the second limit 1240 interacts with the pod 1300 c in thevicinity of its first opening 1330.

That is, the second limit 1240 is receivable in the interior of thecollar 1332 upon elastic deformation of the collar 1332 of a degree thatis sufficient to permit the second limit 1240 to be received therein.The interior 1310 in the vicinity of the collar 1332 can be said to havein its free state a given diameter 1360, which is depicted in connectionwith the pod 1300 b which is in a free state. The second limit 1240 hasa diameter 1270 that is greater than the diameter 1360 of the collar1332 in its free state. As such, the collar 1332 must be elasticallydeformed, i.e., stretched, in order to advance the second limit 1240into the collar 1332 coincident with translation of the pod 1300 c in adirection toward the second end 1260. The diameters 1270 and 1360 areconfigured to resist advancement of the second opening 1340 of the pod1300 c beyond the second end 1260. Additionally, an annular stop 1335can be formed at the first opening 1330 that extends radially inwardlyfrom the collar 1332 at the first opening 1330 and that is engageablewith the second stop 1240 in order to provide a backstop in the eventthat the animal 75 is able to apply sufficient force to the pod 1300 cand/or the support 200 to cause the second limit 1240 to be advancedthrough the entirety of the collar 1332.

Additionally, the first and second ends 1230 and 1260 are affixed to thesupport 1200 rather than one of them being threadably removable as inthe case of the support 200 and the second limit 240. Such affixing ofthe first and second ends 1230 and 1260 to the support 1200 providesfurther tensile strength to the treat dispenser 1100. It is also notedthat the first end 1230 does not have a peripheral groove formedtherein, which is different from the first limit 230 which has theperipheral groove 232 formed therein.

The various embodiments of the treat dispenser toy described hereinprovide an animal with a variety of different auditory and visualexperiences that create an enjoyable and interactive experience for apet, in addition to the dispensing of treats from the treat pods. Forexample, the treat dispenser toy 100 of FIG. 1 provides a rigid support200 with rigid end limits 230, 240 that can also function as a hard chewtoy 500 like a nylon or rubber bone. In another example, the treatdispenser toy 500 of FIG. 5 provides a non-rigid support 600 in the formof a rope with non-rigid end limits 630, 640 in the form of rope knotswith frayed or partially frayed ends that can also function as a ropetug or a rope chew toy. The treat dispenser 1100 has modified limits1330 and 1340 and other modified structures which resist destruction,which enables it to be used, for instance, with a relatively large oraggressive dog. In addition, the treat dispensing pods provide amovable, flexible material that can be chewed, pulled, pushed, tuggedand crushed to reveal treats and the like. Furthermore, while the treatdispenser toys 100, 500, and 800 have been generally described herein ashaving three treat pods, it will be appreciated that any number of treatpods may be used as long as a support is provided that is long enough orshort enough to handle the number of treat pods actually used.

While the present invention has been described at some length and withsome particularity with respect to the several described embodiments, itis not intended that it should be limited to any such particulars orembodiments or any particular embodiment, but it is to be construed withreferences to the appended claims so as to provide the broadest possibleinterpretation of such claims in view of the relevant art and,therefore, to effectively encompass the intended scope of the invention.

All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended forpedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the principlesof the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor tofurthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitationto such specifically recited examples and conditions. Moreover, allstatements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of theinvention, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended toencompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof.Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include bothcurrently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in thefuture, i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function,regardless of structure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A treat dispenser structured to receive anddispense treats, comprising: an elongated non-rigid support member thatis a rope having a first limit and a second limit made of the samematerial as the rope of the elongated non-rigid support member; and aplurality of receptacle elements that are resilient, each of thereceptacle elements having an interior region that is structured toreceive the treats, and having a first opening and a second opening incommunication with the interior region, the second opening being largerthan the first opening and configured to dispense the treats, thesupport member extending through each of the first openings and thesecond openings, the plurality of receptacle elements being slidable inuse on the support member between the first and second limits todispense the treats from the second opening to an exterior of the treatdispenser, the plurality of receptacle elements each having a collarwithin which the first opening is formed, each of the collars beingsized to be receivable in the second opening of an adjacent receptacleelement of the plurality of receptacle elements and each of the collarsbeing immediately adjacent the second opening of the adjacent receptacleelement, to enable nesting of the plurality of receptacle elements withone another, a first receptacle element of the plurality of receptacleelements and a second receptacle element of the plurality of receptacleelements being disposed between the first and second limits such thatthe first limit contacts the collar of the first receptacle element andthe second limit contacts the second opening of the second receptacleelement to prevent the plurality of receptacle elements from disengagingwith the support member.
 2. The treat dispenser of claim 1 wherein eachof the receptacle elements is formed from a resilient material such thateach of the second openings may be compressed onto the collar of anadjacent receptacle element of the plurality of receptacle elements. 3.The treat dispenser of claim 2 wherein each of the collars is structuredto resist bending of the receptacle element having the collar at alocation that is adjacent to the first opening of the receptacle elementhaving the collar.
 4. The treat dispenser of claim 3 wherein at leastthe first and second receptacle elements each comprise a sidewalladjacent the second opening that is structured to be bendable.
 5. Thetreat dispenser of claim 1 wherein at least the first and secondreceptacle elements are each pivotable on the support member about thefirst opening to vary access to the interior region through the secondopening.
 6. The treat dispenser of claim 1 wherein the at least one ofthe first limit and the second limit is disposed on the support memberand protrudes therefrom in a direction transverse to a longitudinalextent of the support member.
 7. The treat dispenser of claim 1 whereinthe first and second limits have a maximum diameter that is wider than amaximum diameter of the support member.
 8. A treat dispenser for ananimal comprising: an elongated non-rigid support member that is a ropehaving a first limit and a second limit made of the same material as therope; and a plurality of receptacle elements, at least some of whicheach have formed therein an interior region that is structured toreceive a plurality of treats, and further having formed therein a firstopening and a second opening that are in communication with the interiorregion; the support member extending through the first openings and thesecond openings, the plurality of receptacle elements being slidable onthe support member between the first and second limits; and theplurality of receptacle elements each being independently movable on thesupport member and being coaxially nestable, the plurality of receptacleelements each having a collar within which the first opening is formed,each of the collars being sized to be receivable in the second openingof an adjacent receptacle element of the plurality of receptacleelements and each of the collars being immediately adjacent the secondopening of the adjacent receptacle element, to enable nesting of thereceptacle elements with one another, a first receptacle element of theplurality of receptacle elements and a second receptacle element of theplurality of receptacle elements being disposed between the first andsecond limits such that the first limit contacts the collar of the firstreceptacle element and the second limit contacts the second opening ofthe second receptacle element to prevent the plurality of receptacleelements from disengaging with the support member.
 9. The treatdispenser of claim 8 wherein at least one of the first limit and thesecond limit is removable from the support member.
 10. The treatdispenser of claim 8 wherein the first and second limits are knots inthe rope.
 11. The treat dispenser of claim 8 wherein the first openingis smaller than the second opening.
 12. The treat dispenser of claim 11wherein each of the receptacle elements is formed from a resilientmaterial such that each of the second openings may be compressed onto anadjacent collar of the collars of the plurality of receptacle elements.13. The treat dispenser of claim 12 wherein each of the collars isstructured to resist bending of the receptacle element having the collarat a location that is adjacent the first opening of the receptacleelement having the collar.
 14. The treat dispenser of claim 8 wherein atleast some of the plurality of receptacle elements are each pivotable onthe support member about the first opening to vary access to theinterior region through the second opening.
 15. The treat dispenser ofclaim 8 wherein the first and second limits have a maximum diameter thatis wider than a maximum diameter of the support member.